


I'll catch you when you can't catch yourself

by soufflegirl91



Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Rhodey, There will be angst later, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony-centric, Tony/Rhodey is my brOTP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 06:52:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8361817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soufflegirl91/pseuds/soufflegirl91
Summary: “Tony, if you carry on like this, you’re going to get yourself killed.”“I know, I’m trying!”Or, five times Tony and Rhodey had the same conversation, and one time they didn’t.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, this is my first fic in years and my first ever Marvel fic. I got this snippet of dialogue stuck in my head and it refused to leave, so I decided to write it down. I'll add extra tags as they apply to the next chapters, but I've not written those yet. Chapters will be short but should be uploaded fairly regularly until it's done. I hope you like it! All comments welcome :)

James Rupert Rhodes would freely admit, just ask him, that being best friends with a poorly – socialised teenage genius was Not Easy. When said poorly – socialised teenage genius was also your roommate, well, Jim was well within his rights to let the frustration bubble over on occasion. Like now, for instance.

“Tony, man, this has to stop. When was the last time you had a full night’s sleep?” In the last two and a half years of knowing his frustrating friend, Jim had slowly become used to the strange hours Tony kept. Up at all hours in the lab, barely remembering to eat and passing out in his desk chair more often than he made it to bed. Eventually, he learned to roll with it, but enough was enough. 

“Can’t sleep, Honeybear, almost done.” As if the mountain of empty coffee cups at his elbow and the dark circles under his eyes weren’t proof enough, the fact that Tony now seemed incapable of using pronouns was doing little to help his case. 

“You haven’t left the lab in three days, God knows when you last ate anything and frankly, you stink.” Jim sighed, “all I’m asking is that you have dinner, a shower and a nap before you carry on. Your pet project will still be there in the morning.” 

“Not an option, too close.” And seriously, with the way Tony’s hands were shaking, there was no way the code he was writing could be correct. With all that coffee, could he even see what he was typing anymore? Jim perished the thought of explaining to his Momma and Mr Jarvis about how he’d managed to let a seventeen year old work himself to death in his lab at MIT. 

“Tony, if you carry on like this, you’re going to get yourself killed.” 

“I know, I’m trying!” Tony finally looked away from the screen and turned to face Jim, somehow managing not to keel over on the way. Enthusiasm pushed through the clear exhaustion, it’s what had pushed him to keep working this long. “Once I get this little guy up and running, he’s going to do all that stuff you keep nagging me about. Bring me food, make coffee, help me out in the lab, -"

“-drag you off to bed?” Jim interjected wryly. “C’mon, Tony, you’ve been working on this for months. What’s another eight hours going to hurt? Can you even read what you’ve been typing the last couple of hours? How do you know the poor thing’s not set to only understand French or something?” 

“Rhodey, this is me we’re talking about! I am literally minutes away from finishing this code, then I just have to download it, and-"

“-and turn it on, and put it through its paces, and before you know it another 24 hours have passed. No, Tony, sleep first, then you can finish tomorrow.” Eighteen months of the same argument, and Rhodey still felt like he was flying blind trying to get his genius friend to look after himself. It had certainly given him a new found respect for his own mother, if this is what it’s like trying to raise a teenager. 

Tony opened his mouth to argue, but instead let out a jaw – cracking yawn that took them both by surprise. Seeing his opportunity, Jim offered a compromise, “Tell you what, you finish that line of coding tonight, then you take a break. Food, shower, a full night’s sleep, then you can check the code with fresh eyes tomorrow before you download it. Wouldn’t want the little guy confusing the human food with the toxic chemicals would you?” 

Heaving a put – upon sigh that only made him sound even more tired, Tony nodded and turned back to his code. Jim made himself useful clearing up the piles of coffee cups and waited for him to finish. In short order, Tony saved his work and powered down the computer. When he finally went to stand up, he wobbled dangerously. Jim managed to get an arm around the younger man before his legs could give out completely. Tony, knowing his battle was lost, just leaned in further and let out a mumbled “Thanks Rhodey.”

“Come on, genius, time for bed.” Rhodey led them out of the lab, turning off the lights behind him. Tony’s helper bot could wait one more day. 

If DUM-E still managed to confuse the coffee and the motor oil, well, that was between him and Tony.


End file.
